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Grieving parents' maternity vigil | Grieving parents' maternity vigil |
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Hundreds of people have called for the return of emergency maternity services to a West Yorkshire town at a vigil led by a couple grieving for their baby. | Hundreds of people have called for the return of emergency maternity services to a West Yorkshire town at a vigil led by a couple grieving for their baby. |
Maisie Bates lived for two days after a Caesarean section at Calderdale Royal Hospital, in Halifax, in September. | Maisie Bates lived for two days after a Caesarean section at Calderdale Royal Hospital, in Halifax, in September. |
Her parents, from Huddersfield, believe she might have survived if they had not had to travel to Halifax for the birth. | Her parents, from Huddersfield, believe she might have survived if they had not had to travel to Halifax for the birth. |
Only routine births can be dealt with at Huddersfield and the hospital trust said that would not change. | Only routine births can be dealt with at Huddersfield and the hospital trust said that would not change. |
Maisie's parents, Alanna Delahaye and Glynn Bates, led a vigil outside Huddersfield Royal Infirmary on Saturday. | |
Leaflets outlining their campaign and pictures of Maisie were handed out. | Leaflets outlining their campaign and pictures of Maisie were handed out. |
The couple have also set up a campaign group on the social networking site Facebook, which has nearly 3,500 members. | The couple have also set up a campaign group on the social networking site Facebook, which has nearly 3,500 members. |
Brain damage | Brain damage |
A petition on the Prime Minister's office website, urging Gordon Brown to restore specialist maternity services to Huddersfield, has more than 1,000 signatures. | A petition on the Prime Minister's office website, urging Gordon Brown to restore specialist maternity services to Huddersfield, has more than 1,000 signatures. |
Miss Delahaye said her unborn baby's heart rate was found to be dangerously low during a routine check-up and she was rushed to Halifax, which is eight miles from Huddersfield. | Miss Delahaye said her unborn baby's heart rate was found to be dangerously low during a routine check-up and she was rushed to Halifax, which is eight miles from Huddersfield. |
She underwent an emergency Caesarean section but Maisie suffered a critical shortage of oxygen causing severe brain damage. | She underwent an emergency Caesarean section but Maisie suffered a critical shortage of oxygen causing severe brain damage. |
She told BBC News: "Knowing that your baby's heart rate is low is scary enough as it is. | She told BBC News: "Knowing that your baby's heart rate is low is scary enough as it is. |
"You know then there's problems and to then have a half hour journey in the back of an ambulance with the lights going, flying up and down roads, it makes the whole situation 100 times more scary and that's extra stress you just don't need at a time like that." | "You know then there's problems and to then have a half hour journey in the back of an ambulance with the lights going, flying up and down roads, it makes the whole situation 100 times more scary and that's extra stress you just don't need at a time like that." |
The Facebook group has nearly 3,500 members | The Facebook group has nearly 3,500 members |
Miss Delahaye said it took 20 minutes to get to Halifax, and her daughter was born an hour after her heart rate was found to be slow. | Miss Delahaye said it took 20 minutes to get to Halifax, and her daughter was born an hour after her heart rate was found to be slow. |
She said: "If we could have halved that time by going to Huddersfield we believe there is a chance that Maisie would still be here." | She said: "If we could have halved that time by going to Huddersfield we believe there is a chance that Maisie would still be here." |
A spokesperson for the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust reorganised its maternity services six months ago and downgraded Huddersfield so it could only deal with routine births. | A spokesperson for the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust reorganised its maternity services six months ago and downgraded Huddersfield so it could only deal with routine births. |
The trust said: "The death of baby Maisie was an unavoidable tragedy where distance was not a factor. | The trust said: "The death of baby Maisie was an unavoidable tragedy where distance was not a factor. |
"Since reconfiguration we have significantly increased our senior medical cover on the labour ward. We have dedicated specialist neo-natal cover looking after our smallest and sickest babies and emergency c-section and intervention rates are already improved by 3% from the same period in 2007. | "Since reconfiguration we have significantly increased our senior medical cover on the labour ward. We have dedicated specialist neo-natal cover looking after our smallest and sickest babies and emergency c-section and intervention rates are already improved by 3% from the same period in 2007. |
"We will not be reverting to the former model of maternity services as we firmly believe this would be a retrograde step and we are committed to improving our maternity services even further within this model." | "We will not be reverting to the former model of maternity services as we firmly believe this would be a retrograde step and we are committed to improving our maternity services even further within this model." |